He Gave Three Million To My Best Friend

The day Preston Guest and I were supposed to register our marriage, I arrived at the courthouse only to find him and my best friend, Mallory Vaughn, holding their newly issued marriage certificate. Mallory laughed as she draped an arm around his shoulders. "I lost a bet, so he had to marry me first. We'll get divorced in a month. It won't get in the way of you two being together." Preston slipped an arm around her waist and made me out to be the one who could not take a joke. But he had forgotten what he had said when my mother was rushed into the ICU, and I had begged him to lend me the money for her surgery. "As a businessman, I've always look at value and return on investment. What do I get out of lending you that kind of money? Besides, my money isn't for charity. Adults have to learn how to stand on their own." Yet he had no trouble wiring Mallory three million dollars in startup capital. "Go ahead and use it to get some experience. If you lose it, I'll take the hit." From hiking trips and vacations to marriage proposals and getting married, Preston made bet after bet for Mallory, and every single time, he left me behind. When I did not make a scene, Preston nodded in satisfaction. "That's more like it. Come on, let's grab dinner and celebrate." I pushed them away and handed Preston the breakup agreement I had already signed. "No, thanks. You taught me what independence means: no more spending your money, waiting for you to marry me, or needing you. "I wish you two a long and happy marriage." Chapter 1 After saying that, I turned and walked away. Behind me, I heard a chair crash to the floor. Preston Guest rushed out of the courthouse after me and grabbed my wrist. "Tara, what do you mean by that?" I turned to look at him. He was still holding the marriage certificate they had just received. Mallory Vaughn stood behind him. Her smile froze on her face. "What was it that you said?" I pulled my hand free. "Adults have to learn how to stand on their own." Preston's brows drew together. "I told you to stand on your own, not to make a scene at a time like this. "We just made a bet and got legally married, that's all. Mallory and I will get divorced in a month. How could that possibly affect our marriage?" I looked at him and suddenly found it all absurd. Preston and Mallory had made so many bets before, and every time, he left me behind and told me it was just a joke. Somehow, I kept believing that he would eventually come back to me until that day, when I saw him with his arm around her shoulders again, smiling as naturally as ever. It was as if the marriage I had waited three years for had been nothing more than a game he could pause whenever he wanted. I lowered my eyes to my phone and saw another payment reminder from the hospital. [Ms. Wingfield, we still have not received payment for your mother's surgery. Please make the outstanding payment as soon as possible.] Mom had been moved to the ICU the day before. The doctor said she needed surgery that very day, and the estimated cost was three hundred thousand dollars. The day before, I had desperately begged Preston to lend me some money. Instead, he had asked what value and return on investment he would get from it, then went ahead and wired Mallory three million. I had asked him why, but he did not even bother to explain. He simply said Mallory's project had a future, while my mother's illness was a bottomless pit with no end in sight. Looking back, I realized that the reason was not that Preston was short on money or that he was incapable of helping others. It was just that he did not want to help me. I looked up at Preston. "Don't worry. I won't get in your way. I don't want your marriage, your company, or your money anymore." His expression darkened. "Tara, what's all this fuss about?" I did not respond. Instead, I turned and flagged down a taxi. Preston said, "You still haven't come up with the money for your mom's surgery, have you?" I stopped in my tracks. He caught up with me. He sounded so sure of himself. "It's not too late to turn back. Tear up that agreement, and anything is up for discussion." I looked at him and realized where his confidence came from. He was convinced that I had no money and could not live without him. He believed that as long as Mom was still in the hospital, I could never truly leave him. But he did not know that three years ago, I had given him the first healthcare risk management system I developed to help him establish his company. Nor was he aware that I had always been a capable person. I had simply devoted everything I had to making his ambitions a reality. "Don't worry, Preston," I said calmly. "I'll figure it out myself. Also, you'll receive a gift tomorrow." He frowned. "What gift?" I did not reply and got into the taxi. Just as the door closed, I saw Mallory walk over and link her arm through Preston's. She lowered her eyes to the marriage certificate in her hands as the corners of her lips lifted slightly in a smile. I looked away and called someone I had not contacted in a very long time. The call connected. "Tara?" "I want to license the healthcare risk management system to the research institute." Chapter 2 “Didn't you say the original research behind that system was the last thing your mother left you, and that you'd never sell it?” "I'm only selling the rights to use it, not the ownership." After a brief pause, I added, "But I need the money immediately." The line went quiet for a moment. "What happened?" "My mom needs surgery," I said. Rowan Langley, a professor at the research institute, did not press me for details. He said, "I'll contact the finance department now. We can make the initial licensing payment within two hours." I closed my eyes and thanked him. Two hours later, I had the money in hand and rushed to the hospital. I sat outside the operating room. My palms were slick with cold sweat. Just then, my phone rang with a call from Preston, but I did not answer. Moments later, a text appeared on my screen. [Are you done making a scene?] Another text followed almost immediately. [Come home tonight. I can pretend none of this ever happened.] I stared at the two texts before slowly deleting everything. Then, I opened my email and sent a formal notice to Preston's company. [Due to a material breach by the licensee of the core technology, we have decided to terminate the license for the healthcare risk management system. The license will officially terminate in seventy-two hours.] The hospital hallway was bathed in pale light, yet for the first time, I felt the tightness in my chest begin to ease. Preston called me soon after. I answered but did not speak first. Barely restraining his anger, he asked, "What does the notice you sent to the company mean?" "It's exactly as it states." "Tara, the company has been licensed to use that system for three years. Do you have any idea how much we will lose if you suddenly terminate the license?" "I do," I said. "Yet you're still going through with it?" I stared at the closed doors of the operating room. "Didn't you say that a businessperson should care about value and return on investment? When you gave Mallory three million dollars to gain some experience, you must've calculated the potential loss as well." After a brief silence, he said, "That's different." "How so?" "You can't use company business to act out of spite." "So, you can use company money to bankroll Mallory's gamble, but when I reclaim my own technology, I'm suddenly acting out of spite?" Preston's voice turned cold. "Tara, don't bring your personal feelings into this." "Personal feelings?" I looked at my hands. "I gave you three million dollars from my savings while we were engaged and brought in the company's first clients. Also, I developed the core system myself. "You turned everything I contributed into company assets and reduced me to an unemployed fiancee who did nothing but spend money. Now, you dare tell me not to bring my personal feelings into this?" He paused, then said, "That three million was an investment you made willingly." "Of course." When Preston first started his company, he had less than a hundred thousand dollars in his account. He slept at the office every night and said, "Tara, once the company survives, I'll give you the most spectacular wedding ever." I transferred three million dollars from my savings to him. Later, I brought in the company's first clients and handed over the system I had developed through countless sleepless nights. The company finally got off the ground. But whenever Preston introduced me to others, he only ever called me his fiancee. When people asked about the company's original funding and technology, he laughed and said, "She just helped out with a few small things." I always let it go, but by then, every detail he had so casually dismissed felt like a thorn driven deep in my heart. "Don't push me, Tara," Preston said in a low voice. "I'm not pushing you. You're the one who taught me this." "Taught you what?" "Not to place my hopes in someone else." With that, I hung up. Mom's surgery lasted three hours. When the doctor finally came out, he told me that the surgery was a success, but she would need to remain in the ICU for observation. I finally let out a sigh of relief. Before I could fully collect myself, Rowan's assistant approached me at the hospital entrance and handed me a document. "This is the licensing agreement. The initial payment has already been deposited." I took the document and turned to the final page, where I found an additional clause. If Preston's company continued using the system, it would have to pay subsequent licensing fees at market rates and could not sublicense it to any third party without authorization. I took out my phone and sent the clause to my lawyer, Darryl Corderman. "Find out whether they have sublicensed it to anyone." Chapter 3 That evening, I returned to the villa to retrieve Mom's identification documents. The moment I opened the door, I heard laughter in the living room. Mallory was sitting on the couch in my pajamas and peeling some fruit. When she saw me, she froze for a moment, then got to her feet and smiled. "Tara, you're back!" Preston came out of the kitchen carrying two glasses of water. "Why didn't you tell me you were coming back?" I glanced at the suitcases in the room and said, "I came back to get a few things." Mallory slipped her arm through his. "Preston, should I leave for a while?" "No." He patted her hand. "From now on, this is your home, too." I paused when I saw that. Mallory deliberately shook her wrist, showing off the emerald bracelet she wore. It was a wedding gift Mom had left for me. She had entrusted it to me before she was hospitalized. I had locked it in my bedroom drawer the day before. "Take off the bracelet." Mallory's expression shifted. "Preston gave it to me." "I said, take it off." Preston frowned. "Tara, it's just a bracelet. Must you make a big deal out of this?" "It belongs to my mom." "Your mom is in the hospital. It's not like the bracelet is doing her any good sitting there." He said it so casually, as though he were talking about some insignificant trinket. Mallory slipped her hand behind her back. "Tara, I didn't know it belonged to your mom. I thought Preston gave it to me as a wedding gift." "Then, give it back," I demanded. "But Preston gave it to me." I turned to Preston. "Did you take it from my room?" I pulled out my phone and called the police. Mallory's face went pale. "Are you calling the police?" "Why shouldn't I? Someone took my belongings without my permission and is refusing to give it back." Preston clamped a hand around my wrist. "Tara, don't take this too far." I looked down at his hand. "Let go!" "Can't you at least show some dignity?" he said. "You put my mom's wedding gift on another woman's wrist, and you dare tell me to have some dignity?" Preston's face darkened instantly. "Mallory isn't the other woman." "Then, what is she?" "She's my lawfully wedded wife." A flash of triumph crossed Mallory's face when he said it. I found it absurd. "You came into my home, took over my bedroom, and wore my mom's bracelet." I looked at Mallory. "Is that what you consider lawful?" The police arrived soon after, and I showed them the proof of purchase for the emerald bracelet, along with old photographs Mom had left behind. With the police mediating, Mallory had no choice but to take off the emerald bracelet. Her eyes were red as she insisted that it had all been a misunderstanding. I ignored her and went into the study. Inside, I turned on an old computer I had not used in a long time. It contained records from the company's early days. I had only intended to look for Mom's insurance documents, but I found a financial transaction in a hidden folder. Three million dollars had been transferred from the company's medical R&D account, with Preston Guest listed as the account holder. The memo had a note. [Startup funding for Mallory Vaughn.] I stared at the memo. Half the money in that account was the three million dollars I had invested, while the other half came from what I had put into developing the system after selling my car, my house, and my investments funds. Preston had taken my money and used it to make a personal investment in Mallory. I copied the transaction record onto a flash drive. The moment I walked out of the study, Preston blocked my way. "What did you look at?" "Take a guess." His gaze flickered before he said coldly, "You can't just meddle with the company's financial records." "Is that so?" I slipped the flash drive into my bag. "I'll see you in court."